Tap! Tap! Tap! DING! Tip! SMACK! Game over!

Such was my experience with Flappy Bird, the surprise smartphone hit. This addictive little game is equally cruel, irritating and rewarding.

And… it’s going away.

Thats right. In a surprise move, Vietnam based Flappy Bird creator Dong Nyugen told the games fans “I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down. I cannot take this anymore. It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore. I also don’t sell ‘Flappy Bird’, please don’t ask. And I still make games.”

This comes as he has suggested that his life has become overrun with the success of the game. A simplistic game at best, Flappy Bird sees the player tapping the screen to guide the titular bird character through a series of mario-esque pipes. Bring Flappy Bird into contact with the pipes, and he immediately dies. It’s a simple premise, and one that is maddeningly addictive.

The aforementioned legal issues that Nyugen references may be in regards to the graphics of the games. The pipes that comprise the levels only obstacles bear more than a passing resemblance to the same pipes that Nintendo’s famous mascot has been traveling through and jumping over for 25 years. The Japanese giant is famously protective of it’s intellectual property, leading many to speculate that Nyugen is cashing out before Nintendo can bring a lawsuit against him.

And cashing out would be the right word. Despite being a free app on Android and iOS, it is estimated by some that Flappy Bird was raking in approximately $50,000 USD a day from in app ads.

I find it interesting that Nyugen is insisting that this game has ruined his life and that he now hates it, despite the masses of money he undoubtedly made from the game. It’s been around since May of 2013, but only recently became a smash success. Flying under the radar early in it’s life may indeed have led it to escape the notice of the Big N, which is certainly not going to miss the inspiration for the design of those green pipes Flappy tries to avoid. My money, what little there is, is on the idea that Nyugen saw the writing on the wall and is getting out while he can.

And if that is the case, and if Flappy Bird was making even close to what analysts suggest, then he’s laughing all the way to the bank. If $50,000 a day is what it takes to ruin someone’s life, I’ll gladly have mine ruined for about three weeks…